The Trust Game
by Lucky the Soldier
Summary: Yesterday was Friday and today is Saturday. For some strange reason Steve and Two Bit are at each other's throats. Whatever happened to Ponyboy? Whatever happened they won't say anything and someone's life could be at risk.
1. That Fateful Night

S.E Hinton owns all characters. The plot is totally mine!

The Trust Game:

Steve's Story

I was leaving the DX and headed home it was starting to get dark out. I've kept my trap shut about what had happened yesterday. I can't tell anyone, not even Soda..this would kill him. It was so bad that Two Bit and I hadn't even talked to each other. Whenever we did see each other around Darry or someone in the gang was there to make sure that we didn't try to kill each other. I'm not even kidding right now. If I ever find myself face to face with him I would probably strangle him. Funny that I mentioned that cause when I come to the end of the hall I find myself face to face with that bastard. Glaring at him I growl suddenly.

"Get out of the way or else."

"Is that a threat?"

"Man it's whatever you want it to be." He goes red with embarrassment or anger and brings his arm up as if to hit me. I on the other hand make no move at all; just stare at him. Go ahead and do it, I think. He was already driving me over the edge. At that I have a flashback to _that_ night.

_As Twp Bit began to start the car Ponyboy and I quickly hopped inside. We sped off unaware of the dangers we still faced ahead. I can remember after some point the car just speeding up. _

"_Slow down, man." I called out and Two Bit replied._

"_It's not me." That freaked me out some because I looked out the window and saw we were driving on black ice. The road is so slick and up ahead I can see Lake Whitney frozen over_ but the car wasn't stopping any time soon. This wasn't good at all.

_I can't swim_

_We could get stuck_

_Overall I just had that gut feeling_

_The crappy part about this whole thing was that there wasn't anything we could do. The Kid wasn't helping out wither when he started freaking out. He seriously needed to calm down because we were already under enough pressure as it was. Now was the time to make a decision; it was either find a way out or stay in the car and die. Yeah... not going to happen. So I unlocked the door and jumped for it. Luckily I landed in the soft snow and got out just in time. As for Leo and the kid? They weren't looking so hot._

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	2. Sudden Thoughts

S.E Hinton owns all characters. The plot is totally mine!

The Trust Game:

Steve's Story

I was leaving the DX and headed home it was starting to get dark out. I've kept my trap shut about what had happened yesterday. I can't tell anyone, not even Soda..this would kill him. It was so bad that Two Bit and I hadn't even talked to each other. Whenever we did see each other around Darry or someone in the gang was there to make sure that we didn't try to kill each other. I'm not even kidding right now. If I ever find myself face to face with him I would probably strangle him. Funny that I mentioned that cause when I come to the end of the hall I find myself face to face with that bastard. Glaring at him I growl suddenly.

"Get out of the way or else."

"Is that a threat?"

"Man it's whatever you want it to be." He goes red with embarrassment or anger and brings his arm up as if to hit me. I on the other hand make no move at all; just stare at him. Go ahead and do it, I think. He was already driving me over the edge. At that I have a flashback to _that_ night.

_As Twp Bit began to start the car Ponyboy and I quickly hopped inside. We sped off unaware of the dangers we still faced ahead. I can remember after some point the car just speeding up. _

"_Slow down, man." I called out and Two Bit replied._

"_It's not me." That freaked me out some because I looked out the window and saw we were driving on black ice. The road is so slick and up ahead I can see Lake Whitney frozen over_ but the car wasn't stopping any time soon. This wasn't good at all.

_I can't swim_

_We could get stuck_

_Overall I just had that gut feeling_

_The crappy part about this whole thing was that there wasn't anything we could do. The Kid wasn't helping out wither when he started freaking out. He seriously needed to calm down because we were already under enough pressure as it was. Now was the time to make a decision; it was either find a way out or stay in the car and die. Yeah... not going to happen. So I unlocked the door and jumped for it. Luckily I landed in the soft snow and got out just in time. As for Leo and the kid? They weren't looking so hot._

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	3. What Next

_Pony's Story_

_We_

_Are _

_Going _

_To __Die!_

_I can't believe that Steve just jumped out like that. I know that he's a jerk but, h-he actually just bounced. I don't even know what to do right now. I could do the same but that would be horrible because I know that Two Bit would never do something as stupid as this. Glory! Why didn't we just stay home?_


	4. An Escape Plan

Two Bit's Story

Really…Really? That stupid hood actually jumped out of the car. He didn't try to help us or anything. Nope. Just jumped out. Never thought Stevie was such a coward. Other than that I guess I'm just a little peachy. Nothing wrong with two greasers being stuck in a runaway car. I just pull on my seatbelt and hang on tight. Then there is this huge crash I guess the car finally hit something. My heart stops when it does. I don't think that it hit a tree or anything because we are in the middle of the lake just sitting on ice. GREAT.

"Two Bit?" A voice calls from the back of the car. I turn around slightly and meet Ponyboy's eyes. They say "What the hell do we do now?" I am thinking the same exact thing too. What do we do now? We can't exactly just stay here or else we'd be stuck here for hours. Or worse. Let's look at all our choices here:

We stay here we're screwed

We touch the ice we're screwed

We move the car in any kind of way we're screwed.

"SO Pony you're the one with the brains here. How do we get out of this, huh?"

"I-I um. Maybe we should just get out one at a time. But _carefully._"

"Right." I say. Carefully. I unbuckle my seatbelt and slowly turn towards the door. Nothing happened yet, that's got to be a good sign right? I grasp the door handle and throw it open. No change, only I'm letting all the heat now. This is as easy as pie…. Opening the door further I take my begin to slide out of my seat when

*CRACK*

I freeze and squeeze my eyes shut. For the love of Mickey tell me that was just the windshield or something. I glance over but there is nothing wrong at first. Then the car just drops and I feel cold water begin to rush up, and the stupid door is still open. I try to close it, grab a hold of my seat, and then turn to my buddy. He is shaking and throws me a dirty look.

"I said to be **CAREFUL **Two Bit! What in the world was that?"

"Sorry Kid. W- Oh my."

"What?"

"Is the water rising in here?" We both look down and up again scared this time. The water is about up to my waist now and I begin to consider some things. Like I should have hopped out when Steve did or taken Darry's advice last year. As the water continue to rise I start to stand up and look at Pony sheepishly. He gives me this look of confusion.

"You can swim right?" I ask. He nods. Good at least one of us can.


	5. Clueless

Two Bit's Story

I really have no idea on what to do right now, but that mean we have to act fast and now.


	6. Where is Ponyboy

Steve's POV

After a while, I see Two Bit come out from the lake. I will admit I had been feeling a little crappy about what I had done; you could almost say it was almost selfish. But you cannot tell me that you wouldn't have done the same thing either. I was freaked out and didn't know how to react it's not every day that you go plummeting into a frozen lake. So keeping this in mind I thought I should go over there to check up on things. Maybe even make up for what I tried to pull earlier. He is crouched in the grass panting heavily when I make my way over to him.

"Are you okay?" I ask. Suddenly I see a flicker of anger in his eyes and it just doesn't fit his character. Two Bit usually has that laid back, "isn't life a thrill" attitude: his grey eyes had me frozen to the ground like glue. He grabs me by the shirt collar pulling me up roughly. Definitely not like Two Bit.

"Have you lost your everlasting mind? You ever pull something like that I'm going to knock your head in!"

"Alright I know what I did was kind of jacked—"

"Kind of? More like all out messed up. Man I can't believe that you screwed us over like that. You just left us to die." I flinched when he said that, I knew it was wrong but I did not know that he felt that way about it. Like I said I just kind of went along with it and I guess my actions weren't the best.

"Well what do you want me to say? Huh?" He kind of looks at me funny here shaking his head.

"Nothing. There's nothing you can say because it isn't going to change anything." I feel guilty because I know that he is right.

"I'm sorry Keith." I can't look at him anymore. "What I did was fucked up and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you and…"

I ball my hands into fists and my eyes grow wide. SHIT! The kid, the kid, that damn kid! I look at Two Bit and blurt out:

"Where the hell is Ponyboy?"


	7. Bitter Emotions

This chapter was so freaking difficult, Hee hee. I almost got writers block but didn't! You guys should check out my poll. You the readers get to decide if Pony survives or not. If not the choice is in my hands Mwhuahahahaha!

Steve's POV

Two Bit looks up at me and pales so much that his face practically blend in outside. We stop arguing for a moment and think hard about this. It is so quiet out that the only noise I can hear is the sound of my heart racing faster because of the mistake that we could have made.

"Two Bit?" He glances up at me for a moment, the fear that he shows is pretty obvious. I am starting to get a little nervous now and I almost regret even saying anything. Do I really want to know what happened? I mean in crappy situations I always try to expect the worse, but to be honest I don't want the worst to happen. Not now. But, I need the truth and I need it right now. I press him for more answers but it isn't getting me anywhere.

"C'mon Two Bit just spill."

"You're going to kill me."

"I am not going to kill you just tell me where the kid is, so we can get the heck out of here and go home." He looks back at the lake and I do too. You can barely see the car anymore, pretty much sunk. When he turns back I gesture for him to continue.

"I don't know." What? Did those words really just come out of his mouth? Next thing I know I'm standing in front of him and shaking him like a madman.

"You don't know? What in the hell do you mean you don't know? How could you not know? You were with him last weren't you? There's only one place he could be. Believe me when I say it: The kid never uses his head but do you really think that he'd be stupid enough to actually stay in the damn car? Huh?"

I was going nuts right now I had no idea how long we had been out here but it was long enough. I was actually starting to miss the kid. And this is where I began to consider some things. What if something did happen to him? He could be—NO! I need to push that thought out of my head right now.

"d be fine." Huh?

"What was that?" I kneel down next to him the cold snow crunching beneath my feet.

"I said when we crashed. We were talking and I was asking him if he knew how to swim and he said yeah. I can't though." I just looked at him knowingly. That's must be why he bounced then and I don't really blame him. Getting back up I start pacing and replaying everything in my head. Why it that we somehow always end up screwed over? I cross my arms desperately trying to keep warm. I left my jacket in that stupid car.

"Steve what are we going to do?" I stop in my tracks and turn to him curiously.

"Whatcha mean?"

"I mean about Pony. I-we-he he could be…" I stop him before he can go any further because I know exactly what he is thinking.

Nothing happened." I try. It's his turn to look at me funny.

"What? We—p"

"Let's get something straight here. The entire reason for us coming out here in the first place was all his idea. Not yours, not mine. I didn't crash that car and it's not like you did either. Neither of us knew that any of this crap was going to happen today." As I am saying this I seem to straying farther and farther away from the lake. I guess Two Bit noticed to because he grabs me by the arm before I can go any further.

"So what are you saying? That this is his fault or something?" I nod at him. Because that is exactly how I feel now that I have put some more thought into this. "We didn't do anything so even if he was gone it wouldn't be our faults." After that he completely blows up on me.

"That's my whole point Steve! We didn't do anything! Something could have happened to him." I shake my head and continue to walk off. "You're paranoid."

"No you just don't give a damn." That got me.

"You want to run that by that by me again grease?"

"Yeah. Clearly you don't care that he might be hurt which doesn't surprise me at all. You always were a jerk and probably hope that something did happen." I glare at him and ball my hands into fists. He sends a death glare my way and whips out his blade. I smirk.

"**The fight is on chump."**


	8. A Turn For the Worst

I know I know you all probably want to shoot me right now. I'm sorry for not updating but it's my teachers' faults. They are trying to kill me with Trigonometry, DNA, and _Gone With the Wind_! To all my loyal fans!

Two Bit's POV

I really don't understand how this happened. I mean none of this is supposed to be happening, tonight was supposed to be fun. But it turned out to be something totally different. We are stuck in the middle of nowhere, Pony is—I don't know, and oh yeah Steve is trying to kill me! I really don't want to fight with him, but he is not leaving me any choice here. I knew that things were going to go downhill when I pulled out my switch. Things were going to get out of hand anyway.

"Steve we don't have to do this." I still had the blade ready though just in case he tried to pull something.

"Like hell we don't!" So he starts to come at me and it is then that I realize how close we actually are to each other. He is taking these fast steps and keeps bending down like he is about to lunge at me or something. I take a stance and point my blade at him as warning and give him this look. I take a step forward and wait for a reaction from him.

Either he took the hint or he really didn't want to fight either because he backed up some inching a little close to the lake.

"Alright, Two Bit. You win okay? I'm sorry I give up." Yeah...like I haven't heard _that_ one before. Seriously how many times is he going to try that one before he realizes, it ain't going to work?

So he holds his hands up like the fuzz is threatening to shoot or something. I drop my hands and put my blade away. I'm thinking maybe I was being a little too harsh. I mean after everything that we'd been through did I really have the right to call him out like that. Part of me says: Two Bit give him a chance, we're all just going a little crazy here. The other half of me? Says "He's a phony bastard. You can trust him about as far as you can throw him." Huh. Sounds like Dally.

"What do you say buddy? Truce?" He holds out his hand and I look down at it for a sec. I roll my eyes inwardly. Man, what am I thinking? Of course I can trust Steve he's my friend.

"Sure pal." I go to grab for his hand but feel another in my pocket. The one with my blade? He flicks the thing open and gets me pretty good on the arm before I can pull back.

"Damn it Steve! What was that?"

The little dirtbag dropkicks me and sink into the snow. I stare up at him in disbelief and I truly begin to wonder what happened to Steve and who the heck this guy was.

"I beat you to it! You were going to kill me too weren't you?" He yells.

"Steve, why in the hell would I kill you, you're my friend." He is getting a little too close to me with that blade. Starting to make me a little nervous here.

"Yeah right. I bet y-y-y… "I steadily began to recover and try to get myself back on my feet.

"Pony." He whispers and is staring intently behind me. I am fully standing now and take the chance to snatch my blade back. I am not falling for this crap again. And dragging the kid into this how low could a guy get than that.

"That is not even funny Steve so shut up!"

"Two Bit…" I hear a hoarse voice come from behind me and it scares the crap out of me. I and Steve stare at each other for what seems like eternity and slowly I turn around. I don't want to at all, my heart is racing faster and ever and when I turn around it stops. I freeze and everything is so quite. But that silence is loud, the only sound that I can hear is the shallow breathes of Ponyboy Curtis.


	9. The Phone Call

I'm back people. Yep! I kept Pony alive (I love him too much). But I probably won't be able to update in the next two weeks. SO until then I am going to have to give you the coolest, most awesome, sick –nastiest chapter until I can update again. Here we go!

Steve's POV

"Two Bit…" and then he just collapses. Two Bit catches him before he can fall though. Oh my God. He's actually still alive, he managed to survive somehow. H-how in the hell is he not dead? My heart is racing a mile a minute as I try to piece together everything that has happened up to this point. No way, no fucking way he can still be alive. It's not possible. This isn't happening! This isn't happening.

I crouch down in the snow and stare at the kid in disbelief. Two Bit pulls of his jacket and wraps it around him to keep him warm. It still is freezing cold out here, we have no car, and I don't even think that we are in Tulsa anymore. Two Bit glances over at me and I turn away sighing. Man, I did a lot of stuff that I am not proud of. I don't want to know what Two Bit is thinking, and I really don't care if Mr. Back from the Dead, over there wakes up or not. Because when he does, all hell is going to break loose. So I am still thinking about all of this when Two Bit looks over at me and I look at him a little blankly.

"Uh, how is he?" We both look at the kid then.

"He's safe. That's all that matters." He says a weak smile on his face.

"Yeah." He gives me this look that lets me know that he forgives me, but that doesn't make me feel any better. I still feel a little crappy about everything that happened. And to think that I actually wanted to…naw I have to get that out of my head now. Somewhere along the way a thought popped up in my head.

"Hey I have an idea." I say.

"What?"

"I think that we should split up." I get and this time, take an actual look at our surroundings. We are still a little ways from Lake Whitney. The car is completely gone but I think that in the distance I can see a road or something.

"You think you can find a gas station or a store, and then maybe we could make a phone call?" I frown at this and then turn back to him.

"Call who?"

"The gang, of course." He scoffs. Aw shit! I never even thought about that! What are they all going to say? Darry's going to **murder** me. Soda's going to hate me. Darry's going to **murder** me. Whatever Dally thinks, Johnny is sure to follow. **DARRY IS GOING TO MURDER ME!** Not happening, I am not telling them anything at all. I make my way over to the two of them and look down at the kid. He's alive but he is still unconscious. Alright lets thing about some things for a second: Maybe I'm just going crazy. I mean Two Bit already forgave me. He's better with the kid than I am, he can talk some sense into him. Or maybe I can talk him into forgetting that any of this stuff ever even happened. We were driving and he fell asleep? Ugh. Even I know how stupid that sounds.

"Hey, on second thought maybe we should just walk home. I mean we can't be that far away can we."

"Uh yeah. We're like ten miles from Tulsa, not to mention we don't have a car, and I don't know if Pone would even make it. Face it; we're seriously in deep trouble." I ran a hand through my hair and sigh deeply. Man, he's right about that.

"Okay, you stay here and I'll go see if I can find some place with a phone."

"Steve? Are you—"

"Sure? Yeah. I guess I am." Yep. I don't know what the hell I was thinking either, but that's what ended up happening.

"Okay. Oh here." He reaches into his pocket and pulls about his switchblade and holds it out to me. I just stare at it. "Go on, take it." I grab it.

"Thanks." I say and I mean it.

"Sure. And Steve?" I turn back taking one last look at the scene ahead of me.

"Just be careful." I nod. But Two Bit, you can't use my name and careful in the same sentence, I choose not to say that though. I slip the blade into my pocket and start walking to that road.

I don't know how long I had been walking but I was getting pretty tired. When my legs finally gave out, I just took a seat on these steps by this sidewalk. Wait, steps? Yes! I can't believe I actually found a house. I instantly get up and start banging on the door.

Knock

Knock

Knock

It takes a pretty good while but somebody finally opens up. It's this real socy broad, so my first thought is: Damn. She's going to call the fuzz or her old man is going to handle it.

"Can I help you?" She asks. She actually sounds scared, probably thinks I just some hood.

"Yeah, you got a phone or something I can use please." She opens the door a little wider and lets me in.

Ashley was her name. She was actually pretty decent for a soc, pretty too. So I come into the house and I find out that her parents were out on vacation. She was going to let me stay for the night too. But I told her that I actually had somewhere to be. No way was I going to tell her what happened. She might have flipped. We walk into her living room.

"Okay here's the phone. I'll be upstairs if you need anything else okay?"

"Sure, thanks." She nods and smiles at me. After everything that happened, it makes me feel like I'm not a complete piece of shit.

I pick up the receiver and make a phone call to the Curtis'. For every time that it rings it seems like hours have gone by. I close my eyes and almost hang up when I hear somebody finally answer.

"Hello?" An anxious voice answers.

"Hey Soda."

"Steve? Where in the world have you been? You guys were supposed to be home hours ago? We've been so worried and looked everywhere for you guys. We called your dad and Two Bit's mom and neither of them knew where you guys were. Where's Two Bit? How's Ponyboy, is he okay? Where—?"

"Sodapop calm down. Ev-Everything is just fine." Yeah, that's a laugh.

"Really?"

"Um. Yeah. The party was cancelled so, we-we decided to uh. Have…a…SLEEPOVER! At Two Bit's." Wait didn't he say that he called Two Bit's mom. I hope that Soda doesn't realize that anytime soon.

"A sleepover?"

"Yeah." There is a long silence and it scares me. What the hell am I doing? Obviously he's not going to believe this. Then I hear a sigh of relief on the other side.

"Good. I wow. Golly, you guys had me scared for a minute." I give a weak chuckle. "Sorry buddy."

"No problem. You should just call next time okay?'

"No problem." Damn, Soda. I'm sorry.

"How is it?" How's what? Unfortunately I spoke my mind.

"The sleepover ya dope."

"Oh yeah, yeah its fun."

"Cool. Hey can I talk to Pone?" Shit shit shit shit shit shit.

"NO!"

"Why?"

"He's uh. He's sleep and I don't want to wake him up. Kid looked tired, y'know?"

"Oh. Okay! Well I'll see you guys tomorrow. Have fun. Pick you up at ten!" WHAT?

"SODA?"

"Night, Stevie!"

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!


	10. Recap

Oh snap! This story is almost over and I'm thinking that there are at least five chapters left; sounds about right. I think that's it's time to start planning the next story. I was thinking a murder mystery or a kidnapping story.

Pony's POV

W-what is going on? I feel like I just got hit by a truck or something. I wake up and it's freezing cold out and I feel wet. Did the guys dump cold water on me when I was asleep or something like that? I can't remember anything either. All I remember was that we were driving to some party and that we ended up getting lost. Two Bit and Steve were talking about something. After that….everything's a blur.

I open my eyes slowly, expecting it to be light outside, but no. It's still dark, the moon is even out. I am sitting in the grass clutching somebody's arm. I turn to the left shakily and see that Two Bit is sitting beside me. I look all around now and notice some things. Like how we're not at the party or my house, the car is gone for some reason. And Steve is gone. I am rubbing my arms to keep warm when all these questions start running through my head. I turn back to him.

"Two Bit?—what happened?" He jumps up suddenly scared, and it kind of freaks me out too. I don't even think that he knew I was awake. But then, why was I asleep in the first place. I began to ask but then stop shaking my head slowly. "Pone you're awake, are you okay?"

"I guess so just freezing like crazy." He takes off his jacket and gives it to me. Mumbling a thanks I all around the area. I don't think that we are in Tulsa anymore because there is only one road out of here and I didn't know where it led to. We were several feet away from this lake and I think that it was frozen over once. There was this big gaping hole in the middle of it.

"Do I even need to ask?" I say pointing out the scene behind us. I crawl over to him and stare at him questionably. He takes a deep breath and tells me the story.

"Well…Do you remember anything Pony?" I bring my knees to my chest and rest my head on them. Shaking my head I wait for him to go on.

"Okay. Do you at least remember some things that happened when we were driving?" I nod.

"Yeah, we were driving around and I think we got lost or something right?"

"Yeah." Alright, that sounds about right but why can't I remember anything else after that? I ask him if he can tell me what happened while I was out. He was kind of being vague about it. After asking again he finally settles on: "It's a long story." That's a load of crap if I've ever heard it; I wish that he would just tell me the truth.

"Well It doesn't look like we're headed anywhere for a pretty good while." He seemed kind of nervous but starts to tell me anyway. "We were in the car driving when we had run over some ice. It went out of control and it crashed into that lake over there." I look over to where he is pointing. It is so hard to believe that I almost want to just take a look in the hole but I chose not to. I turn my attention back to him and wait for him to continue his story. He said that Steve had managed to get out and I and he were still inside when the car crashed.

"I think I remember that part. I kind of freaked out when water started coming in. When you left I was able to get out through the window and it was hard. I thought I was going to drown, but luckily I made it out. I started crawling around looking for you and Steve but I couldn't find you guys anywhere so I turned around. Anyway…how did you end up getting out of there?" He gives me this grim smile and tells me his whole dilemma. I guess he was feeling guilty about leaving me in the car.

"It's not your fault so don't even worry about it. I don't blame you at all, it's not like you could swim or anything."

"Well that's good. I was pretty sure that you'd be pretty ticked." I shake my head a smile a little.

"Not at all. And it's like I said I can't blame you for anything. But I do have one question for you."

"Okay, what is it?"

"When I finally found you guys I could have sworn that you and Steve were fighting. He had a blade and looked like he was going to kill you. What was that about?" He just chuckles and raps the top of my head.

"Looks like you got a little too much water in old noggin there, huh?"

"Shut up." I say, stifling a laugh. Then I drop down to my knees and start coughing. I had this major head ache starting to come on."

"Hey are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just not feeling so hot." I lay down in the grass and he starts rubbing circles into my back, it helps me relax. I close my eyes and almost fall asleep, but probably shouldn't though.

"Where's—

"Hey I'm back." I look up and see Steve standing there and from the look on his face I can tell that there is something wrong.


	11. Consider the Following

Woo! Chapter 11 is finally up. I enjoyed writing the last chapter took me a few hours to finally get everything planned. I think I have a good idea now. I'll tell you right now that this chapter is very important, so no skipping. :P

Steve's POV

After that horrible incident I just wanted to crawl into a whole and just die. I don't know what is wrong with me or what I was thinking about even calling the gang. I just lied to Soda, I should have just told him everything, and he is my best friend after all. But he would have hated me all the same and I couldn't live like that. So calling him back is totally out of the question. What was I going to tell Two Bit? Now that I think about it, I pretty much lied to him too because, I was supposed to tell them everything and get some help, but no… I had to lie. Ugh. I am royally screwed.

May as well head back now. I had until 10:00 a.m. until the fireworks began. The idea of leaving Ashley without saying goodbye kind of made me feel bad so I wrote a note and left on the fridge.

Hey Ashley,

Just wanted to thank you for everything. You really helped me out. I have to leave now, so thanks again.

Love, Dallas

Huh. Now that I think back I really don't know why I signed the note with Dally's name. But I couldn't tell her my real name, she might call the fuzz or something. I walk out of the house and close the door shut.

Now how was I going to explain all of this to Two Bit. I mean when I get back he's going to be expecting this whole rescue mission and when he finds out I lied…All I'm saying is that I'm tired of fighting with and just wished that none of this crap even happened.

I figured out a lot of things when I had stayed at Ashley's and I came up with this plan when I left there too. Like, I was in some town called New Hamilton and it was about twenty miles away from Tulsa. There was no in hell that we would make it back to Two Bit's on foot, by 10:00 a.m. It's just not happening. The next thing that I learned is that there is this hotel a couple of blocks away from the town line. Maybe I can get Two Bit agree to let us stay there for a while so we can rest and then plan everything else. I still don't want to tell the guys what's going on yet. As I thought about all of these things I wasn't expecting the surprise that I got when I finally made it back to the scene of the accident.

I see that Two Bit was there and that the kid was awake several thoughts and feeling ran through my head at that moment: Fear, Anxiety, and Frustration. How in the hell was he still alive? Did Two Bit tell him what happened? Was he going to tell the gang? Oh my God.

I slowly make my way over to them and call out. "Hey I'm back." And then the kid looks up at me and so does Two Bit.

"Steve! It's so good to see you again!"

"I was only gone for—I don't even know. But yeah I'm back."

"Did you call the gang?" I turn away from him and run my fingers through my hair. There are the magic words. I gulp and pray that he doesn't ask any more questions.

"Yeah. I called them."  
"Are they coming to get us?" I turn around and look back at the kid. He always got on my last nerves and I saw him as a tag along. I didn't really know but I hated him for a minute. I pause for a moment not really wanting to explain how I actually made things worse than they were.

"Did you?"

"Yes… technically."

"What do you mean 'technically'?" Two Bit cuts in. I put my hands in my pocket and hand finds Two Bit's blade. I just want to pull it out right now. It would solve so many things.

"Yeah. Well Soda picked up the phone. I told him that we were at your house and he's going to pick us up tomorrow at ten in the morning." He and the kid stare at me. Oh yeah, really want to crawl into that hole right now.

"You told him what? What the hell Steve? That was not the plan. You were supposed to tell them what happened and we were supposed to get out of here. Now we're never going to get out of here!"

"Since when did you get the gall to boss me around."

"Since you can't follow simple directions. I told you to tell them what happened and you lied. You lied to them and you lied to me."

"That supposed to mean something?" I was getting pretty angry now. Why is he making it sound like all of this is my fault. I realize that some of the things that I did were wrong but still. I thought that we were friends. We all supposed to be in this together.

"Yeah. You want to know what this means? It means that you are willing throw us under the bus just to save your sorry ass!" That's it. I remember that he gave me his blade earlier and I'm half a second away from whipping that thing out and cutting him to ribbons. Before I can do anything though the kid gets between us.

"C'mon guys let's not do anything stupid okay. We all just want to get out of here and move past this. Fighting isn't going to get us anywhere. " As he is going on and on, I get this feeling of hatred again. I wouldn't even be in this mess if it wasn't for this damn kid. What bothers me even more is the fact that he still knows about all of this. Two Bit fucking told him everything that happened. Hell the first thing he probably told him about was that I hopped out the car and made up some lies about how I left them to die. He can't keep his trap shut about anything and he'll probably tell the whole gang. And then bye-bye Steve. Not happening. The only thing standing between me and the fact that nothing _really _happened is the kid. Somebody has to go and it's not going to be me. I have this sudden urge to kill him. No kidding, I want push his ass into that lake and watch him drown…for real this time. I want to pull out the blade and slash his fucking throat. He has got to go, I can't risk anybody finding out about this. I couldn't live like that. So that's what drove me to say what I said.

"Fine, no more fighting." The kid turns and looks at me surprised. I plaster the fakest smile on my face and reply.

"Yeah. No more fighting. I know this hotel around here, we can stay there for the night. Call the guys up in the morning and explain everything. " I look at Two Bit now. "No more lying. And you know what? I think that everything is going to be okay now."

"Oh? So we've reached an uh, clear understanding?"

"Yeah. I get it." Don't worry, I understand everything. I know what I've got to do and I won't hesitate.

"Let's go then." I wait for them to start walking when I pull the blade out of my pocket. I switch it open and slip it into the sleeve of my shirt.


	12. Eternal Sleep

SQUEEEE! I have waited so long for this chapter. It is my favorite one so far, and I hope that all of you will enjoy it. I feel so bad now for leaving you guys in the dark so long. This is for you guys, hopefully it makes up. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year; etc.

Steve's POV

The doorway swings open and the first thing is see is the giant bronze plaque on the back wall reading:

**The Saldova Hotel**- Since 1806. Our Number One goal is to serve you.

The place is huge and I wonder if we can even afford all of this. A giant chandelier hangs over the lobby and the whole ground is plastered in this red carpet. Really socy joint…we so can't afford this. So as I am thinking about this, Two Bit is about to head over to the concierge. I pull him back.

"What are you doing?" I ask worriedly.

"I'm going to call up the gang. Problem?" My eyes widen and my heart is racing! Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap. There is no way in hell I can let him do that. I mean they already think that we are at his house. If I let him call the guys he would tell them everything and I can't let that happen.

"Uh. No, no problem it's just." I look over at the kid and gesture towards him.

"Kid looks tired…I am too. We should get the room first and I'll call everyone tonight." He nods and a heavy load is lifted off of my shoulders. I reach into my pockets and hand him like ten bucks. Doubt it'll get us anything, but what the hell. He goes off to get the room leaving me in the lobby with the kid. I'm surprised that he trusts me alone with him after everything that's happened. I glance at him and take the time to stare at his appearance. He's still sopping wet and shivering from the cold. He looks like he is about to drop dead at any minute. Maybe I should just put him out of his misery and just go for it.

I run a hand through my hair and flinch, feeling a sharp pain in my left arm. I touch it and feel something stiff inside and then I think. Two Bit's switch.

"Are you okay?" I look up and the kid is looking at me with a face full of concern. "Your arm's bleeding." He says and reaches for it. I pull back instantly.

"Yeah, just cut in when I hopped out of the car." Damn it! Why did I have to bring that up? I turn away from him so he doesn't see me hide to blade. Or was it so he didn't realize how scared I was. I roll up my sleeve pulling the blade out and holding it. I feel a hand on my shoulder and a soft voice follows.

"Steve you know I don't blame you for any of this right? It was just an accide—."

'Yeah." I say nodding my head back still turned to him. I grip the blade tighter. Why is he so ready to put this behind him? Why is it that everybody seems to be able to move on except me? Obviously he hasn't forgotten that fast. As soon as we make that phone call or get out of here, he's going to sell me out. That's how it always goes down. You just can't trust people. But I can't tell him that. I am about to say something when Two Bit's voice breaks my thoughts.

"Got the room." He says. I turn to him doubtful but at the same time a little amused.

"Oh yeah? How?"

"Using the good old charm." He says giving me this Cheshire cat smile.

The room was pretty nice I guess, came with two beds and this chair. After everybody gets cleaned up, the kid hops in bed and it comes down to me and Two Bit. Just fall asleep already I am thinking in my head. It would make things so much easier. He sits on the bed and I sit across from him on the couch and we kind of look at each other funny. He looks like he's thinking about something and I just give him this blank stare. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He finally pipes up. Caught me off guard. I raise my eyes in surprise and just shake my head. He nods and drops it yawning.

"I'm going to hit the hay. You're going to call everybody still right."

"Of course." I say lying through my teeth. I guess that answers good enough for him because within five minutes he finally goes to sleep. I stand up and walk over to him loudly clapping my hands in his face. Definitely knocked out. Yep this was going to be pie.

I turn my attention to the kid, still asleep. This was my chance to end everything. Why does he always have it good and I have to put up with my shitty life. He cheated death and that's just not right. There was nothing wrong with what I am doing. I look down at the sleeping figure below me and slowly creep onto the bed straddling it. I can't back down now. I press the pillow against his face watching as he writhes beneath it muffled screams following.

"It'll be over soon Kid." Carefully I whip the blade from my sleeve and I don't hesitate to plunge it downward.


	13. Missing Jigsaw Piece

Ha ha, I had got writers block after that last chapter but I just had an awesome inspiration! Went to Texas for a week and I felt like I was in The Outsiders the entire time. When I was in that hotel I was like "Oh crap. What if Steve gets me too?"

Pony's POV

I shoot out of bed and bring a hand to my mouth, holding back a scream. It's dark in room except for the faint glow of light from under the door. Was that really happening or was it just a nightmare; I don't know. I can breathe. I look myself over real quick. No blood. Okay, t-that's good. The only thing I can hear is the sound of my labored breathing and Two-Bit's snoring. I sigh wiping my face with my hand. Shoot I'm finally losing it. Steve would never….nah.

I say leaning back into the bed letting out a nervous chuckle. This has just been some messed up day.

Got in a car accident

Nearly drowned

And now, GET THIS, now I'm hallucinating.

I don't know it just seems like something is wrong but I can't figure it out. I can't stop thinking about what happened, almost like I can't escape it or something. I look up at the clock on the wall. Can't really read but it looks like it says 11:58, I think. Man, I really wish Johnny was here, or even Darry. I know we fight a lot, I still wonder. Maybe things would have turned out different had he come along. Wait. I can still fix this. Umm, we were supposed to do something before we went to sleep, what was it though?

Oh yeah, the phone call. Steve must have forgotten to call the gang. There is now way in the world that I hanging around here any longer.

So with that thought in mind I hopped out of bed and felt around the room for the desk. They usually keep emergency stuff in there. Right now I just needed a flashlight or something. No reason to wake up the guys turning on all the lights. I'm stumbling all over the place and I think I tripped over a chair or something because I heard something move in the room.

Finally I find the desk and grab a hold of the drawer handle opening it. Reaching inside I feel around for what I'm looking for. Books, Phonebooks, Bible, Flashlight! Or at least I think it's a flashlight. Whatever it is I pull it out of the drawer and place it on the table. I hear something shuffling in the room so I pause. Probably woke up one of the guys.

"Two-Bit?" I whisper. No response. "Steve?"

.

..

…

..

.

I know I heard something. You know how when its pitch black out and you can't see anything. But if you close enough you can still kind of make out little things. Like the dark silhouette standing against the wall. I'm glued to the floor and I really wish that I turned the lights on earlier. Never taking my eyes off of it once I reach for the flashlight on the table.

_I need to get to that phone but I think it's in the lobby downstairs._ Wish there was one up here, should talk to the owner about it. I turn to my right and start walking straight ahead. That shadow thing is gone so it's not so creepy anymore. Lifting up the flashlight I click it on and a bright light lit up the path ahead of me. I drop the flashlight and nearly jump out of my skin when I see Steve standing there just looking at me.

"Glory Steve you scared me," I recover and bend down to grab the light. Glancing up at him I notice that he's still standing there, he didn't even notice me. He's too focused on whatever's in his hands, twisting it around. Is that a switchblade?

"Steve?" I call out. Kind of creeping me out here. He looks up at me and gives me this smile and I don't mean the happy kind either. He flips it open and starts walking towards me. No. I mentally kick myself when I drop the flashlight. The room is in darkness and I've basically dug my own grave. I feel something move past me and instantly dart to the other side of the room.

"Steve c'mon what kind of sick game is this?" I slowly move around and bump into something, or someone. I try to kick him but I guess I missed because I feel him grab my leg tripping me_. _

_I've gotta get out of here._

But Steve had other plans. I get slammed against the wall and cold hands making their way towards my throat. When he finally finds it I immediately start thinking that I'm screwed. Hands tighten around my neck and I reach up trying to ply them away, but he isn't giving in. "Get off." I manage to choke out while flailing my arms out. I hit a nearby lamp and it falls down shattering.

"The cookies are MINE!"

I've never been so happy to hear the most stupidest thing in the world. Two Bit had woken because the light turned on and I saw him and things just got awkward from there. He's sitting up in bed staring at me and Steve in disbelief. Steve loosened his hands around my neck but there still there. He gets out of the bed and throws his hands up giving this "Care to explain?" look. I take this opportunity to get away. I kick Steve and immediately run towards the bathroom pulling Two Bit along.

"You can't run kid!" I know but I can still hide. I slam the door shut just as he makes it to the entrance. I flick the light switch on taking a seat on the edge of the tub.

"Lock the door!" I tell Two-Bit and he does. I feel kind of bad dragging him into all of this but I couldn't just leave him out there either. He turns back sliding down to the floor sighing.

"You want to tell me what's going on?"

"You want to tell me why Steve's out to get me?" I counter and said greaser starts banging on the door surprising us both.

"Open the fucking door." Two-Bit and I look at each other and blurt out the same thing. "Got to hell!" I hop of the tub and start thinking of ways to get out of this. My concentration breaks when Two-Bit yelps and hobbles on the floor on one foot; blood all over the other one. We snap our heads back to the door paying close attention to jiggling door knob. I back away nervously at what he's doing. He's really trying to pick the lock and get in.

"Got any ideas?" I ask.

"Nope." I kick the tub in frustration, pulling on my hair. _There's got to be some way out of here._

"Hey Kid check this out!" I follow his voice and there's Two-Bit standing next to an elevator shaft. A ticket out of here. I rush over to it and together we open it revealing a space. This place is so old they probably used it for sending down clothes or something.

"What now?"

"Get in." I look at him because he's off his rocker. Since 1806, the olden days, not happening! A swift kick to the door on the other side and I know the longer we wait the faster that Steve gets in here. I waste no time at all and hop into the elevator. Two-Bit grabs a hold of the rope and begins lowering me down.

"I'll meet you down in the basement, okay?"

"Yeah. Are you sure this is safe?" He nods reassuring me and starts lowering me down again. I sure hope that this thing holds out. I was small enough to fit inside but once I started going under I couldn't see the walls anymore. I lean into the back of the lift, closing my eyes. It'll all be over soon. I heat a shout from above and look up scared because the lift started moving. When it settles I peer outside and look up. _What's going on up there?_ I was only a few feet down so I considered climbing back up there until I hear a crash from above me. "Kid!" I gasp when I see the rope fall, and the elevator lift picks up speed and just drops.

"TWO-BIT!"


	14. To Kill a Greaser

Here's Lucky! I'm back again and I hope that you all enjoyed the last chapter. I bet you all had heart attacks didn't you? Thank you all for your lovely reviews because it's you guys that keep this soldier fighting :p Now we continue!

Steve's POV

A sense of relief washed over me when he didn't respond back. I wanted to toss my hands up and shout "Hallelujah!" The kid was finally dead and it was all over. Smiling to myself I pocket the blade and collapse on the floor sighing. I let out a small laugh and look up at Two-Bit. For the first time since all this crap happened I was actually happy. He stands across from me looking at me, he almost looks like he's in pain. He shakes his head slow and I shrug my shoulders.

"Y-You really did it." I can't contain the smirk on my face.

"I know isn't it great?"

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" He sends a punch to my stomach and I go down instantly winded. I look up and can see the hatred in his face. We've fought before and it ended in a tie. I can't afford to do that again or even lose. I've beaten plenty of socs before I can take this loser. I jab back at him and shove him towards the elevator space. He grabs a hold of the support beams and kicks his legs out sending me flying. Shit. Since when can he fight?

"You feel good about yourself Steve? Can you live with the fact that you killed an innocent kid. Ponyboy at that and you betrayed us all!" Grabbing the sink counter I try to stable myself.

"I do feel good about myself. Everything's fucking peachy. After I kick your ass I'm gonna find my way back to Tulsa. And I know they might all be pissed at first but after a while the whole gang's gonna appreciate that I finally took the kid out. Cause let's face it he's better off dead."

"Take it back!" He screamed and pushed me out the door. I try to run but he grabs me by the shirt collar tossing me to the floor. Bitch move Two-Bit, it's time to end this. I reach for my pocket and…

No.

No,no,no,no! The blade it's—

"Looking for this?" A harsh flick draws my eyes to his hand to see him holding a switchblade. I swing the main door open and take of running. I don't bother to look back because I know that he's right on my tail. I run down the hallways banging on doors and walls, somebody's got to wake up. I-I can't let this happen. No matter how much I scream nobody answers. I reach the end of the hallway only to find a staircase. What is it? Two three floors.

I turn back deadpanned at Two-Bit who standing inches away from me is still holding the blade.

"You've got some nerve if you seriously thought you were off the hook." I take an unconscious step back swallowing the lump in my throat.

"How could you do it Steve? We trusted you. The gang, me, hell Ponyboy did too. I know you two didn't get along but to kill him. You had NO right!" No right? I had every right! I mean what else was I supposed to do? The fact is we were just in too deep. The kid knew too much and if I'd let him go he would have ratted me out. But I took the next step, and now _he _knew back to square one. I look up at him glaring: Not a flipping chance. I lunge at him and at the same he pushes me back and we go tumbling down the stairs. I hope the bastard breaks his neck.

At some point I feel a sharp pain in my stomach and I yelp before we are slammed on the concrete floor. Don't know what I landed on and don't give a damn. Writhing in pain I cough and stare at my hand stunned. Blood. God no. I look up with fear at the figure standing above me. He's holding a blade tinted red. I drop to my knees and glance down unwillingly. I'm practically gushing. Fuck can't…give up now. I hear the clicking of footsteps on the floor before sink back to the floor. Every dying breath I give just seems to linger. I stare up the ceiling before my head rolls to the side.

Two-Bit is standing there, arm wrapped around the kid. I can't help but to stare into his eyes, I'm just overwhelmed. Everything comes back to me and I think maybe that all this is supposed to mean something. That maybe this is a sign.

I think…

I think…

I'm….

Falling.


End file.
